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A LOT ON THE AG SECRETARY’S MIND: Tom Vilsack was given his first chance to fire back at the House members in the farm bill conference who have suggested gutting the country-of-origin labeling law so as to not confront trade issues with Canada and Mexico at yesterday’s POLITICO Pro Agriculture event. It would set a bad precedent, he said, if “every time there is a trade discussion, folks can run to Congress and get the rules changed in the middle of the game, and I think we need to let the game play out,

Pro’s Bill Tomson took Vilsack through a slew of topics on the ag secretary’s mind, also including a battle over proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and whether the administration still supports ethanol. But Vilsack was clear about one thing: the farm bill is a high priority for the administration.

“It’s more than a farm bill,” he said. “It’s a jobs bill; it’s the opportunity for us to invest in business development in rural America to take advantage of our natural resources. … It’s an energy bill … it’s a trade bill, it’s a reform bill … and it will help to reduce the deficit.” What’s more, he added, “I think there is a link to it getting done and the Congress getting to important work on the budget.” The story on Vilsacks comments from the launch event is available here: http://politi.co/17t0rV5.

FARM BILL WATCH — UNLIKELY BEFORE DECEMBER EDITION: It seems agreement on a consolidated farm bill may not happen in time to make the conference leaders’ end of November deadline, based on the comments of Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass) during his Pro Ag launch interview with Editor Jason Huffman. “I don’t know if we will get it before thanksgiving but I think we will get one,” McGovern said, when pressed on timing. He added, however, “There is a desire to get this thing done.”

It should be no shock that the biggest issue holding up an agreement is the nutrition title, where lawmakers must reconcile a $36 billion difference between the two measures. Though McGovern, one of the biggest defenders of SNAP, implied there was a little room for compromise, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) told Pro’s Tarini Parti “at this point I don’t think there is progress made on nutrition.” But King also said the less controversial issues are being addressed first by both staff and lawmakers before the bigger issues are tackled.

McGovern appears dug in on resisting further cuts to SNAP, based on his comments yesterday. When asked if he would accept any cuts “north” of the $4 billion in the Senate bill, he answered, “I don’t think so. We’ve already had an $11 billion cut because the stimulus money has run out.” Later he warned, “If you more toward what the House did, you’re not going to get a farm bill. I wouldn’t approve it. I know a lot of my colleagues on the Democratic side wouldn’t approve it.”

HAPPY FRIDAY! Welcome to Morning Ag, where your host is pretty sore from yesterday’s Rocky II training montage style team pump-up session in advance of the launch event. Next time, perhaps just some light group stretching will suffice. Thoughts? News? Tips? Feel free to send them to jhopkinson@politico.com and @jennyhops. Follow us @Morning_Ag and @POLITICOPro.

**A message from Fuels America: America’s farmers are feeding and fueling the nation. The Renewable Fuel Standard drives the investment and innovation that have helped America’s farms increase crop yields while also producing more than 13 billion gallons of renewable fuel and 37 million tons of animal feed. http://bit.ly/16CfCxJ **

And while we are here, it seems like a good time for MA’s QUOTE OF THE WEEK — this week’s comment comes from yesterday’s event, and was one of the few things said that drew a giggle from the crowd. Rep. McGovern, in response to a question about whether he’s optimistic there will be a farm bill this year from Pro Ag’s Huffman, dropped this gem: “So far we keep on moving in the right direction, I feel good — maybe it’s my medication.”

Also of note, McGovern revealed that he and Rep. Steve Southerland (R-Ill.), a major advocate for cuts to the food stamp program, discussed their farm bill differences over dinner Wednesday night. The Massachusetts Democrat volunteered only that he “ate pasta.”

CBO: TWEAKS TO AG PROGRAMS COULD SAVE BILLIONS: The Congressional Budget Office has highlighted USDA’s Conservation Stewardship Program, Federal Crop Insurance Program and direct payments to agricultural producers as areas where federal lawmakers could find considerable savings in their budget negotiations. Phasing out and scaling back the CRP would save $13.3 billion by 2023, while reducing subsidies and limiting administrative expenditures could cut $27.3 billion over that time period. Nixing direct payments to producers would save another $24.5 billion. The report is available here: http://1.usa.gov/1eS4wKf

RFS TODAY? KEEP AN EYE ON EPA: The rumor mill has been swirling for days that the 2014 ethanol mandate under the renewable fuel standard will be released this week, though the only word from EPA so far was when Administrator Gina McCarthy told lawmakers yesterday that the rule would be out “soon.” Based on a leaked proposal, EPA looks ready to reduce, for the first time since the passage of the RFS, the amount of ethanol required to be blended in to fuel — a change that has support from the fuel industry, but which has largely been panned by ethanol and ag groups — except for those who benefit from lower corn prices.

But don’t take a reduction in the mandate as a sign the Obama administration is backing away from ethanol, Vilsack asserted yesterday. “I think it would be hard to make the case the administration’s backing away [from ethanol] … It is very difficult with all of that assistance and help … to suggest we’re moving away,” the secretary said, adding that there are real job and environmental benefits to promoting the homegrown fuel. “We’re going to continue to support this industry.”

BIODEISEL WANTS MORE IN RFS: Meanwhile, 32 lawmakers are calling on EPA, USDA and the White House to lend a hand to the biodiesel industry in the 2014 standard, Pro Energy’s Darren Goode reports. “Biodiesel has exceeded RFS targets in each year and is clearly poised to do so again in 2013,” the 32 senators wrote to McCarthy, Vilsack and OMB Director Sylvia Mathews Burwell in a letter yesterday. “Setting the 2014 biodiesel volume requirement at reduced levels could have severe impacts on the domestic biodiesel industry. Further, a continuation of 2013 levels paired with any reduction in advanced biofuels targets could similarly negatively impact the industry.” The letter is available here: http://politico.pro/1asQkTA

HOUSE DEMS ASK CONFEREES NOT TO HOLD UP FSMA: Seven House Democrats are asking farm bill conferees to ignore a provision (Section 12321) in the House version of the farm bill that would delay the implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act. “This section apparently is intended to address concerns raised with regard to proposed rules to enhance produce safety,” they say in a letter sent today. “However, those concerns should be addressed, and are already being addressed, through the notice and comment rulemaking process, not through legislation that holds hostage the entire Food Safety Modernization Act.

Reps. Rosa DeLauro (Conn.), Henry Waxman (Calif.), John Dingell (Mich.), Frank Pallone (N.J.), Diana DeGette (Colo.), Louise Slaughter (N.Y.) and Nita Lowey (N.Y.) state in the letter that the provision, which would prohibit FDA from enforcing any regulations under FSMA until the agency publishes a scientific and economic analysis on the legislation’s impact, would fail to protect consumers from contaminated food. The letter is available here: http://politico.pro/HPlH0L

RECORD-BREAKING AG EXPORTS: U.S. agricultural exports reached a record-breaking value of $140.9 billion in fiscal year 2013, the USDA announced yesterday, and Vilsack used the occasion to again stress the importance that Congress finish work on a new five-year farm bill that contains programs to promote agricultural exports — sensing a theme yet?

HOUSE LEADERS NAME WRRDA CONFEREES: The farm bill isn’t the only thing going on in Washington. A group of 28 House negotiators — 16 Republicans and 12 Democrats — have been appointed to the conference committee tasked with hammering out a deal on WRRDA, Pro Trade’s Scott Wong reports. Senate leaders named their conferees earlier this month, so today’s announcement clears the way for both House and Senate negotiators to try to reconcile the two versions of the bills

ROCKSTAR ENERGY IN HOT SEAT FOR MARKETING TO KIDS: Rockstar Energy is not so popular with lawmakers for using its buzzy logo on some toys, a classic move to appeal to children, after the company told lawmakers it doesn’t market to kids. The revelation has ticked off Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), John Rockefeller (D-W.V.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) — who have been leading the charge for limits on marketing such high-voltage drinks — following remarks by Rockstar executive Janet Weiner at a Senate hearing in July.

The group of senators shot a letter to Rockstar founder and CEO Russel Goldencloud Weiner this week asking why the company’s logo is appearing on a wakeboard boat toy both in Target stores and online. “In light of public health concerns regarding the consumption of high levels of caffeine by children and adolescents, we are deeply concerned by the marketing of a Rockstar toy,” the letter says. The full story from Pro’s Helena Bottemiller Evich is here: http://politi.co/1asB1u9

ACHESON GROUP EXPANDS: Now that David Acheson, the former associate commissioner for foods at FDA, has launched his own consulting firm, he is looking to expand. The Acheson Group (TAG) is looking for “an early to mid-level individual with expertise in food safety and 3-4 years of hands-on food safety/quality experience in a food manufacturing environment (FDA or USDA regulated) and ability to travel.” Acheson left Leavitt Partners, where he was a partner, in October, bringing with him several of the Leavitt group’s food safety consultants.

MA’s INSTANT OATS

- Following the hubbub over “natural” label lawsuits and GMO state labeling initiative, NPR takes a look at what consumers really want to know from their food labels: http://n.pr/1aH2EMy

- The backers of I-522, Washington State’s ballot initiative to require labeling of GMO foods, have conceded the race as the measure trails by just three percentage points. However, groups are vowing to try again in 2016, The (Olympia, Wash.) Olympian reports: http://bit.ly/1aanUOZ

- USDA, EPA, National Marine Fisheries Service and Fish and Wildlife Service hold a stakeholder workshop to review their plans for implementing recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences on assessing pesticide risks to endangered species at 1 p.m. at the NOAA Silver Spring Metro Center Complex, NOAA Auditorium, 1301 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, Md. More information is available here: http://1.usa.gov/1gP87tj

** A message from Fuels America: The Renewable Fuel Standard is one of the few policies that has consistently driven innovation and growth in the agricultural economy, which now is responsible for 1 in 12 American jobs. Farm income is up and rural communities are thriving because America’s farmers are doing more with less: producing record yields using less water and energy inputs. The RFS is driving that progress, ensuring that the ag sector can both feed and fuel the country. http://bit.ly/PSCIGF **